Tag Archives: Sindh

I found it an interesting read and thought it should be shared with my readers. The figure of 108,000 is huge and impressive when it is meant the number of those who have converted to Islam (by choice?) since 1989 by a man who was once a Hindu. In the town of Matli of Badin district, Sindh, Deen Mohammad Shaikh, a 70-year-old, wishes to see the entire world becoming Muslim.

Frankly, he did not inspire me as his wish hurts my ‘perfect world’ philosophy which shapes a way to the coexistence of all human beings with different faiths, creeds, ideologies, and cultures. I have not intended to comment on this for the sake of just criticism, but the disappointment has provoked me to share those resentful feelings. The mindset of “Muslims winning, ruling the world” has a deep meaningful connection to Muslims psychological euphoria of being “superior.” The superiority which they have inherited from their glorious history which has created winners and conquerors is a push that keeps the fire burning.

I would wait till the day when a Hindu or, for that matter, a Christian decides to convert Muslims and Muslims all over the world will go gaga, protesting, burning properties, and killing people from other religions. Hold on, how easily the great Pakistani Muslims have chosen to forget the hard work they have put in harassing, intimidating and killing Ahmaids, Christians, Hindus and many more?

The only Muslim and Pakistani Nobel laureate was Abdus Salam who won it for his work on the electroweak unification of the electromagnetic and weak forces in 1979. No one else since then has reached to that level of excellence, and brought fame to this country, but he, too, suffered from the hate and negligence from this ‘religion stricken country’. His crime was that he was a proud Ahmadi. We bask in the glory of Muhammad Bin Qasim and Mehmood Ghaznavi, but ignore the existing pride out of our extreme bias, hatred and prejudice for those whose beliefs are different. Muhammad Bin Qasim and Mehmood Ghaznavi are past and I am not fully convinced if they are my heroes, but Abdus Salam certainly is. This country needs more of such people and their religion is not my business.

I stop here, enjoy the read….

MATLI: Such are Deen Mohammad Shaikh’s powers of persuasion that he has converted 108,000 people to Islam since 1989, the year he left his birth religion Hinduism behind.

His multi-coloured business card describes the Matli dweller as the president of the Jamia Masjid Allah Wali and Madrassa Aisha Taleem-ul Quran – an institute for conversions to Islam.

The reedy 70-year-old brandishes an embellished cane. A red-and-white keffeiyah perched on his shoulder offers people a hint to his theological leanings.

As he speaks to The Express Tribune, his arm slices an invisible arc through the air. He is gesturing to a vast expanse of nine acres of donated land where converts are invited to pitch a tent and stay. “My heartfelt wish is that the entire world becomes Muslim,” comes his response, when asked about the en masse conversions. His piety is matched only by its ambition.

But contrary to the grandiose proclamation, this preacher isn’t a repository of rehearsed sound bites. It is only after he settles down on a charpoy that he deigns to embark on the journey of a Hindu named Jhangli who became an expert in evangelism.

“I always loved Islam,” he begins. “I read the Holy Quran and realised that 360 gods were not of any use to me.”

At first he had to study the Holy Quran in secret. There was the risk of being misunderstood if a Muslim caught him with the holy book. He started fasting and in fact he would begin a day before Ramazan started.

Shaikh’s mother grew alarmed at her son’s forays into another faith. She thought that if she married him off, he would not ‘leave’. Thus, he was barely 15 when his wedding took place, followed by a quick overtaking by nature – four girls and eight boys.

But despite this, he was drawn back to his curiosity and managed to find a teacher, Sain Mohammad Jagsi, who instructed him in the Holy Quran and Hadiths or sayings of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

Fortunately, Shaikh’s uncle was of the same mind and the two men agreed that they would give each other the strength. Shaikh held off until his daughter was married to a Hindu as planned, since he had already “given his word”. Then there was no turning back.

After his conversion, Deen Mohammad Shaikh made it his mission to woo others. He began in his own backyard, preaching to family, before venturing beyond this comfort zone. Encounters with the rich and powerful helped pave the way. Retired Pakistan Army general Sikandar Hayat, who owns a sugar mill in Matli, offered Shaikh money, which he turned down. Instead, he urged Hayat to give jobs to some of the new converts. Hayat and his daughter proved extremely helpful in providing assistance.

Now, Shaikh says, his fame has spread and people come to him from as far as Balochistan, members of all religions and sects, who would like to convert. A small mosque has sprung up in his residential compound along with a number of rooms where children – mostly girls – are taught how to say their prayers and recite the Holy Quran.

One of the teachers is 14-year-old Sakina, who is just 15 days into the job. “Only a few students are difficult to teach,” she says while commenting on their ability to recite a text in an unknown language.

Shaikh is aware of the difficulties converts face while taking on what appear to be the initially daunting rigours of a brand new system. He makes life easy for the first 40 days. “They only have to pray farz!” he says while referring to the mandatory parts. This relaxed schedule ensures that they can ‘confirm their faith’. He understands that if he demanded they start out with praying five times a day to offer even the optional and ‘bonus’ parts, “They would run away!” as he puts it with a look of mock horror on his face.

Other than this, he is reluctant to actually explain how he influences the people. All he offers is a nugget of fire and brimstone: “I tell them that I was a Hindu too and that they would burn in Hell if they are not Muslim.”

More than saving a soul

There are other practical considerations that accompany conversions. In order to ‘save’ the converts from influential Hindus in other districts, Shaikh packs them off to Hub Chowk while the Kalima is still moist on their lips. “Their families would beat them up (for converting) otherwise,” he explains.

This trick of the ‘trade’ he learnt from personal experience. He alleges that he was kidnapped along with his daughter-in-law by influential Hindus who threatened him so that he would stop converting people. “They don’t want these poor Hindus to stand up to them when they become Muslims,” Shaikh maintains.

Despite 108,000 conversions, for which a record is kept, Shaikh still doesn’t feel his work is done. He wants everyone to be a Muslim and learn from his example. He also attends the Tablighi Jamaat’s annual congregation in Raiwind, although he doesn’t believe in sectarian divisions. “All groups are like brothers to me,” he declares.

LAHORE, 13 Oct: The Media Commission expressed shock at the harassment of Mahesh Kumar and attack on his car. Kumar, chief editor of Daily Sindh Hyderabad and a member of South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) Hyderabad chapter, went to the press club at night where some unidentified people opened fire on his car. Later, he was threatened on phone of dire consequences.

Such harassment to an old friend of SAFMA, who belongs to a minority group, is highly condemnable, said I. A Rehman, president of MCP. The obvious rise in attacks on the journalist is a worrying sign and gives more strength to impunity. We call upon Karachi Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to investigate this matter and reasons behind the harassment of journalists

On a positive note, the MCP welcomes the unconditional release of Rehmatullah Dawar after 61-day captivity.

The culture of giving Fatwas must end in a country which has not yet touched the edge of maturity. The Fatwas when given in routine and without any thinking behind it create havoc. Pakistan, unfortunately, is one of the countries which are fighting a strong wave of extremism and simultaneously mishandling the strategies to bring back the society to normal. Needless to say, the country since beginning has chosen the path that led to assassinations and intolerance. Liaqat Ali Khan to Shahbaz Bhatti, the journey has been ridden with thorns and today we stand not united rather confused and disintegrated.

The irony is that the minority of sub-continent has fought for a separate homeland and succeeded well in 1947, but the same lot has denied its minorities their rights. An Ahmadi has no rights when in Pakistan including his right to life. The incident published in a newspaper tells the story of target killing of an Ahmadi who happens to be the first in 2011 in Sanghar. In fact, according to Anti Ahmadiyya Ordinance 1984, the province Sindh has killed 37 Ahmadis for the identity this country has given them, now what they asked for it.

Today, in 21st century, do we still need to listen to Fatwas which ask you to end a human life and take law in your hands? Do we still want a country where our own people have no rights and begging for their lives? If we do not want this then it is the time to decide to respect humanity and value human life. Rise above everything and let the goodness, preached in all religions, prevail.

It’s not easy these days being a Hindu in Pakistan. The number of cases of members of the Hindu community being kidnapped for ransom is on the rise, both in Sindh and in Balochistan. While recently attending a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Law and Justice, I realised that a stringent law was already in place under which a person convicted of this offence could be sentenced to life in prison or even death. As usual, the discussion revolved around the fact that while we had good laws, they were not being implemented.

Personally, I am against capital punishment — and the logic is quite straightforward: since we don’t give life, we have no right to take it away. And hence life imprisonment is acceptable but not capital punishment. However, the rise in cases of kidnapping, often of children, has altered this view. Those who kidnap people for ransom need to be dealt with a heavy hand, more so because in Pakistan where we hardly ever see anyone punished for this crime. In August, before the floods had hit Sindh, I visited a Hindu Sindhi family in Kashmore whose six-year-old had been kidnapped. The state of the mother was enough to convince me to press for severe punishment as a deterrent to stop this kind of crime.

I was told that Hindus were being targeted because, by and large, they lacked political clout and made for easier targets. Furthermore, those involved in kidnapping for ransom often had connections to powerful people, and this explained why, in most instances, the kidnappers were never caught.

The tragedy is that as a result of these kidnappings, many Hindu families have migrated to India. After all, it is better to live in another country than in perpetual fear. This is the biggest failure of the so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan — that its minorities don’t feel safe on their own soil.

Clearly, the government’s package, called ‘Aghaz-e-Huqooq Balochistan’ has not achieved much in that province. For instance, in 2009 a 13-year-old was kidnapped and released after a ransom of Rs1.8 million was paid. Another Hindu was kidnapped from the busy Sariab road and released after a ransom of Rs4.2 million was paid. A Hindu man was kidnapped and released after his family paid Rs1.5 million. A Hindu shopkeeper was asked to pay Rs6million at which point he migrated to India — this happened in August of this year. And this is just a partial list.

The Hindu community is peaceful — so what is its biggest sin? It is a minority in a land where there is no rule of law. All that is needed is the political will to go after those involved in these kidnappings — the incidents will stop and our Hindu compatriots will stop fleeing to India.

What saddens me is the fact that not a single incident could teach a lesson to those who are biased and believe in vested interests. Protests generated within civil society, people, and human rights organizations could not so far put a halt on future violations of human rights. It piles up lot of frustration and I can well imagine that those who have spent their lives in a hope to create a peaceful and fair environment for minorities here in Pakistan must be shaken with a new wave of extremism. But, defending human rights is a long and unending process which is shaken but can never be collapsed.

Once again, blasphemy comes for the rescue of extremist forces when a Muslim mob attacked Hindu families in Sindh. They have been living in Mirpurkhas for almost a century and on an accusation of writing abusive language against Prophet (PBHU), they had to vacate their houses. Angry mob burned three houses belonging to Hindus and many children and women were assaulted. Seven Hindus were arrested on blasphemy charges. Police and rangers tried hard to control the situation, but it kept going out of their control. One innocent Muslim died in crossfire; whereas one ranger got injured.

If one goes back in the context, it is understood that the whole chaos and hatred do not base on religion rather it is pure material. Land grabbing is not new to me rather I have observed that it has been one of the most prominent reasons leading to attacks on minorities. This case is not so different. The role of a Maulvi (religious cleric) in flaring up the mob emotions is condemnable. The job of religious clerics is just not to become custodians and authority on religion rather guiding people on right path is their supreme duty. The bias and hatred in Maulvis play an important role in dividing people further, quite opposite to what they are supposed to do. In many cases with some exceptions, loudspeakers of Mosque are used to assemble and then motivate people to attack minorities in the name of Islam. The implementation of any law has always been a hard task and carries many weaknesses. Same goes for “Loud Speaker Act 1965” in which Section 3 prohibits use of loudspeaker except for prayers. In 2004, it was made compulsory, but due to having no check and balance system, it was never implemented fully. The misuse has a horrifying side to it which made killing and all sort of violence possible against minorities.

The demand to repeal blasphemy laws by human rights defenders is becoming stronger especially under the given perspective. These laws are meant to target one section of society which has an equal right to live here peacefully. The intolerance has plagued the society which has infected majority of people. Sane voices are becoming rare and sensitive minds are becoming oblivious. It is not a good sign and we all have to raise our voices against extremism and religious intolerance to defeat the extremist forces.

Everyone please sign the petition to prove that we are on the right path and humanity is the greatest religion.

Below is the story:

PAKISTAN: A Hindu community is attacked and evicted on fabricated
Blasphemy charges, houses burned causing death of a person by firing

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information
that a Muslim group attacked on a Hindu community that had been living
there for a century during the early hours on 23 August 2010 in order
to grab the land occupied by the Hindu community in Sindh Province of
Pakistan. The Hindu community, who are minority in Pakistan, had been
forced to vacate their houses and assets from the area. Three houses
were burnt by the Muslim attackers. Many women and children were
assaulted and seven Hindu men were arrested on fabricated charges of
Blasphemy for writing abusive language against the last prophet (peace
be upon him) of Islam on the walls around the mosque. The loudspeakers
of the mosque were used to provoke the Muslim residents to attack on
the Hindu community. A young Muslim man was killed during the exchange
of firing between the attackers and the Pakistan Rangers.

The government authorities have not taken any initiative to protect
the minority community till date.

CASE NARRATIVE:

A centuries-old Hindu community had settled in Mir Wah Gorchani city,
Mirpurkhas district of Sindh province and their main settlement were
known as the Bhemo Mal Megwar colony and Metha Ram Megwar Para. The
total population of the Hindus in the area is more than 400 and the
community has been in existence before the formation of Pakistan.

In the early hours of 23 August 2010, at around 2am, Maulvi Mushtaq
Ahmed Naqshbandi, a leader of the local mosque and Jamia Siddiqia
seminary, announced through the loudspeakers that there was some wall
chalking in which abusive words had been written against the last
prophet (Peach be upon him) of Islam by the Hindus. He provoked that
the people should come out from houses to teach the Hindu community a
lesson. When some people asked for proof that the Hindus were
responsible for the chalking Maulvi said that a truck driver had
informed him that when he was entering the area near the mosque he saw
a young man standing at the wall and after seeing the driver he (young
man) ran away towards the Hindu community of Bhemo Mal Megwar. The
driver saw the wall chalking and he quickly informed this to Maulvi.

Maulvi also provoked the Muslim inhabitants to search the houses of
the Hindus and find the young man whose hand must be stained with
black ink. Around 50 persons under the leadership of Maulvi started
searching each house during which women were dragged by the hair out
from the houses in their sleeping garments conditions; children were
kicked to force them to leave the houses. There were 60 houses and it
took three hours to search for the man suspected of the blasphemy but
no such person was found in the community. When the situation
deteriorated after the humiliation of the Hindus and the threats from
the Muslims to burn the Hindu-houses, a police party under district
police officer of Mirpurkahs arrived and started controlling the mob
of more than three hundred Muslims. The angry mob started pelting the
police with stones shouting slogans to burn down the houses of the
Hindus. The mob then burned three houses and looted the belongings of
the community.

In the meantime the loudspeakers of the mosque were continuously used
to provoke the Muslims to attack the houses of Hindus of Bhemo Mal
Megwar that might have provided shelter to the person, who had written
blasphemous writings on the walls around the mosque. The mob was
swelling and going out of control so the Rangers were called to help
the police in controlling the mob. As the Rangers came some miscreants
used fire arms during which one Ranger, Mr. Haq Nawaz, received a
bullet injury. The rangers and police used tear gas shell and baton
charged the mob. On the demand of the Muslim leaders seven Hindus were
arrested on the charges of Blasphemy. The arrested persons were Mr.
Faqeero, Mr. Kirchand, Mr. Mukesh, Mr. Kishan, Mr. Prem and Mr. Heroo
Ram Chand. One possible reason for their arrest is that they were the
only persons available at that time as the Hindus fled the area to
take shelter in other places. The minority community also left all
their belongings and animals that have been without water and fodder
since then.

One young Muslim man, Mohammad Imran, was killed by gunfire. In the
funeral prayers one particular person attended. He is Pir Aube Jan
Sarhandi, from Sanghar city, of Sindh province, and is known in the
area along the Indian border to convert Hindu women to Islam by
abducting them. He openly claims that he has converted 2000 Hindus to
Islam.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Bheemo Mal Megwar Para has been a registered Hindu colony since
the creation of Pakistan but the area around this village is mostly
unregistered where many settlers from the Punjab province and migrants
from India have settled and made their houses. In recent days some
land grabbers have also grabbed the land of Musafir Khana, a public
land, and constructed well concrete houses with the connivance of the
officials of the land department. A journalist, Mr. Rana Jameel Ahmed
and one Haji Khalid Papoo have made their houses in front of the main
road to Bheemo Mal Para, narrowing down the path towards Bheemo Mal.
Observing the threatening situation the Hindu community made a wall
around their settlement and erected an iron gate, both of which were
demolished by an angry mob during the above mentioned incident on 23
August. It is alleged that government sent some officers from land
department of Sindh to vacate the grabbed land but the officials made
some settlement with the illegal occupants of the government land. The
alleged grabbers also received help from the mosque leaders.

The same method was applied last year by the alleged land grabbers in
Soomra colony of Mirpurkhas where, during the Hindu festival of Holy
(colour festival) two Hindu communities, the Kohli para and Bheel
Para, were attacked on the false charges of writing blasphemous words.
The Hindus had to leave the area and moved to other places. The land
grabbers have purchased the land from these two communities at throw
away prices.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The dark aspect of the incident is that extreme, militant Muslim
organizations are using the tool of blasphemy as the best way to keep
religious minority groups under pressure. The State is failing to
protect the lives and property of the minority community. The
blasphemy law has made it compulsory that no police officer below the
level of Superintendent of Police can investigate the charges but this
is rarely adhered to.

Religious minority groups in Pakistan remain vulnerable due to the
continued use and abuse of blasphemy charges, despite section 295C of
the Pakistan Penal Code. The police, who fail to follow the code and
who operate under the directive of extremists in the community, must
face strong legal action. Charges of blasphemy are still met with the
death penalty in Pakistan.

The misuse of loudspeakers is continuous in Pakistan despite the
Section 3 of the Loud Speaker Act 1965. And again in 2004 it was made
compulsory that loudspeakers from mosques can be used only for call of
prayers and Friday sermons in Arabic language. But the irony is that
mosques’ leaders are frequently using the loudspeakers and the state
is ignoring the acts of Muslim religious groups which result in
spreading hatred against the religious minority groups.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the authorities urging them to take stern
action against the persons responsible for attacking on the
century-old settlements of the Hindu community. Please also urge the
authorities to stop the misuse of Blasphemy law. The misuse of
loudspeakers from the mosques should be stopped. The government should
help the displaced Hindu community for their rehabilitation in their
own settlements. Maulvi Mushtaq should be arrested and prosecuted on
the charges of misusing loudspeakers from the mosque and taking search
of the houses of the Hindu community illegally. The government should
also provide compensation to the family of the Muslim man, Mr.
Mohammad Imran, who was killed during the firing from the extremist
elements.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the attack on the
settlement of the Hindu community at Bheemo Mal Megwar Para, Mir Wah
Gorchani city, Mirpurkas district,Sindh province, by Muslim extremists
on the false charges of writing blasphemous slogans on and around the
walls of close to the mosque. They burned the houses of the Hindus and
looted their belongings. One Muslim man was killed during the firing
from the extremist elements.

It is shocking for me that on the early hours of August 23, at around
2am Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmed Naqshbandi, a leader of the local mosque and
seminary known as Jamia Siddiqia, announced through the loudspeakers
of the local mosque that there were some wall chalking in which
abusive words were written against the last prophet of Islam by the
Hindus. He provoked that the Muslim people should come out from houses
to teach the Hindu community a lesson. When some people asked about
the prove that Hindus have written abusive language, the Maulvi said
that a truck-driver informed him that when he was entering the area
near the mosque he saw a young man was standing with the wall and
after seeing driver he ran away towards the Hindu community, the Bhemo
Mal Megwar. The driver saw the wall chalking and quickly informed this
to Maulvi.

Maulvi also provoked the Muslim people to search the houses of the
Hindus and find the young man whose hand must be stained with black
ink. Around 50 persons under the leadership of Maulvi started
searching each houses during which women were dragged by the hair out
from the houses in their sleeping garments conditions, children were
kicked to force them to leave the houses. There were 60 houses and it
took three hours to search for the man suspected of the blasphemy but
no such person was found in the community. When the situation
deteriorated after the humiliation of Hindus and the threats to burn
their houses a police party under district police officer of
Mirpurkahs arrived and started controlling the mob of more than three
hundred Muslims. The angry mob started pelting the police with stones
shouting slogans to burn down the houses of Hindus. The mob then
burned three houses and looted the belongings of the community.

In the meantime the loudspeakers of the mosque were continuously used
to provoke the Muslims to attack the houses of Hindus of Bhemo Mal
Megwar who might have provided shelter to the person who had written
blasphemous writings on the walls around the mosque. The mob was
swelling and going out of control so the Rangers were called to help
the police in controlling the mob. As the Rangers came some miscreants
used fire arms during which one Ranger, Mr. Haq Nawaz, received a
bullet injury. The rangers and police used tear gas shell and baton
charged the mob. On the demand of the Muslim leaders seven Hindus were
arrested on the charges of Blasphemy. The arrested persons were Mr.
Faqeero, Mr. Kirchand, Mr. Mukesh, Mr. Kishan, Mr. Prem and Mr. Heroo
Ram Chand. One possible reason for their arrest is that they were the
only persons available at that time as the Hindus fled the area to
take shelter in other places. They also left all their belongings and
animals that have been without water and fodder since then.

One young Muslim man, Mohammad Imran, was killed by gunfire. In the
funeral prayers one particular person attended. He is Pir Aube Jan
Sarhandi, from Sanghar city, Sindh, and is known in the area along the
Indian border to convert Hindu women to Islam by abducting them. He
openly claims that he has converted 2000 Hindus to Islam.

I am appalled as to how a leader of a mosque can order the people to
search of each and every house for a person for writing the alleged
blasphemous slogans. How the law was given over to the hands of an
Imam of a mosque, is this the rule of law in the country? I am also
concerned with the misuse of loudspeakers from the mosques and how
they are frequently used against the religious minority groups.

According to the information I have received, it seems to me that the
local administration is at the mercy of the extremist Muslim groups
who use their influence against the religious minority groups in Sindh
province. Many Hindu communities have already left their settlements
because of the absence of rule of law in the interior of Sindh.

I urge you to take stern action against the persons responsible for
attacking on the century-old settlements of the Hindu community. I
also urge the authorities to stop the misuse of Blasphemy law without
properly following the law. The misuse of loudspeakers from the
mosques should be stopped. The government should help the displaced
Hindu community for their rehabilitation in their own settlements.
Maulvi Mushtaq should be arrested and prosecuted on the charges of
misusing loudspeakers from the mosque and taking search of the each
houses of the Hindu community illegally. The government should also
provide compensation to the family of Mr. Mohammad Imran who was
killed during the firing from the extremist elements.

Human beings are blessed with immense potential and abilities to achieve impossible. But life teaches us that path to success through pain, suffering, hardships and hard work. Time leaves scars, but heals the wounds. There has been a rise in violence against women, and rape is the most heinous crime that not only cripples their life but also shatters their confidence. Sexual abuse and domestic violence are not just common in all over the world, but poison the lives of thousands of women. There are two approaches to deal with such problems: firstly, the societies should take such measures to stop such crimes; secondly, if they take place then what should be done for those victims? Following story is based on ideas how to help such women in restoring their confidence.

Story:
An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: The WISE women of Karachi

WISE — Women’s International Shared Experience Project – travelled
to Karachi, to work with women from throughout the Sindh area who have
been raped, sexually assaulted or domestically abused.

9 women spent 14 days living together and receiving training in video
production. Some of the women could not read or write and their
confidence had been stripped away from them as a result of the abuse
they had faced.
Through participatory learning activities — a practice based on the
writings of Paulo Friere <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire>
— and the use of symbols and touch, the women were able to make a
documentary, which tells the story of the women of Pakistan. The women
not only planned and filmed the documentary, but also edited it — not
a small task for those in the group who had never touched a computer
before.

The resulting documentary is a unique look at the issues addressed
through the eyes of women who have faced or who are still facing human
rights abuses against them each day.

The video has been split into two parts, so that we could upload them
in Pakistan — due to ISP restrictions. Please take a look at them
here:

The WISE project will now travel to Jakarta to work with women who
have been infected with HIV – either through drug use or through
prostitution.

The base of all religions is more or less same–humanity, love for mankind. Not a single teaching could hint at maltreatment, injustice, and violence. But today’s world just talks more about religion, but forgets the major chunk of what it teaches. The recent incident in Memon Goth, Sindh, where 60 Hindu men, women and children were forced to flee their homes, has hurt me deeply. Their current situation forced them to live in a cattle pen in order to save their lives, but what so terrible they have done? Their only crime is that a Hindu boy drank water from a cooler placed outside the Mosque. The whole idea of such coolers is to satiate thirst of people regardless of their gender, creed, class and religion. And the concept of “sawab” is a motivation factor for people to arrange some comforts. Imagining a boy working on a farm in this heat who just drank some water and it invited the wrath of tribesmen who attacked the Hindus, and injured some of them.

What is the life of non-Muslims here when on every small action they meet such fate. Such tragic incidents address the most important issue of tolerance. Why this society has chosen an extreme path which only brings misery for those who are not “one of them”. The rise in intolerance needs to be countered and the role of religious leaders in such cases becomes crucial. They need to educate the society on what Quran and Islam say on such issues. Feeding non Muslims is something quite appreciable in Islam and those who try to test people with food and water have no right to claim that they belong to any religion. This is insanity and the time has come to implement zero tolerance for all the religious extremism.

Below is the story:

The News

As many as 60 Hindu men, women and children were forced into abandoning their homes in Memon Goth and taking refuge in a cattle pen all because of a boy from their community who drank water from a cooler placed outside a mosque, police officials and community members told The News.

These hapless people ran away from the wrath of some of the influential tribesmen of the area who got so enraged by the incident, which took place last week, that they beat up the members of the Hindu community and forced them into evicting their quarters.

“All hell broke loose when my son, Dinesh, who looked after chickens in a farm, drank water from a cooler outside a mosque. Upon seeing him do that, the people of the area started beating him up.

“Later, around 150 tribesmen attacked us, injuring seven of our people — Samo, Mohan, Hero, Chanu, Sadu, Heera, and Guddi — who were taken to the Jinnah Hospital,” said Meerumal, a resident of the area.

One of the injured, Heera, while showing this correspondent his wounds, said that another 400 families of the area, located in the vicinity of Malir, were also being threatened to leave the area.

“Our people are even scared of going out of their houses. We are also putting up with living in the filthy pen because we cannot go home for fear of being killed,” he said.

The SHO of the Memon Goth police station, commenting on the issue, said, “A trivial incident led to riots between the people of the area. Since both the communities happened to be illiterate, the matter just flared up.”

However, he dismissed the claims of lack of security to the Hindu community in the area and said that they could go back to their homes anytime they wanted to.

Meanwhile, Minister for Minority Affairs Dr Mohan Lal assured the Hindu community of full government protection.

“I have directed the DPO and the SHO to ensure that these people go back to their houses safely,” he said.

The minister said that the culprits would be dealt with severely. Abdul Hai, of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that these people, who belonged to the Bheels caste, had been living in the area for several years.

“They are former bonded laborers. Now they earn a meager sum of Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 monthly as watchmen at the farms. Some of them also work for the tribesmen.

“The government must help them in moving back to their homes in order to instill confidence in other families and prevent them from packing their bags too,” he said.